KISSES SWEETER

THAN WINE 

When it comes to love, flame-haired Dr. Sophia McDonald keeps her senses. Her practical nature is what helped her rise from humble, trailer park beginnings to being voted the town of Clarkson’s Best Therapist.

 Sam Owens' mother saved the money from her strawberry patch in a jar till she had enough to escape her miserable home life. Abandoned by his mother and tormented by his father, Sam looked for the fastest route out of Clarkston. He found it by enlisting the minute he turned eighteen.

The Army recognized Sam’s thirst for risk-taking and thrill-seeking and soon carved him into an elite warrior. His tour of duty over, Sam has found some satisfaction in his job promoting Clarkston’s local growers and winemakers. And lately, "Red," the modern woman who initiates intimate conversations with strangers, is reduced to stumbling over her words when he's around.

Red has fallen hard. But she has no one to blame but herself if Sam is content to keep things casual between them. She was the one who pursued him when she accidentally-on-purpose spilled her Riesling down the front of his uniform, the night of his homecoming. Because Sam is still as out-of-touch with his feelings as ever. The only way he can conquer his past is by destroying the house he grew up in, with all of its bad memories. And he’s laying the groundwork to do exactly that.

 At the same time, Red longs to move out of her grandma's trailer into a forever home. And she’s spending every free moment searching for the elusive house of her dreams, a house in the country where she used to pick strawberries as a child . . .